November 30, 2022
For Immediate Release (Winnipeg): Across Canada, parents see their childcare fees drop. But
this is not happening in Manitoba. More than a year after the Manitoba government signed
onto the federal government’s national child care agreement, families in Manitoba have not
seen their childcare fees reduced.

Under the Canada-Manitoba Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement (2021-
2026), Manitoba promised many changes. The first is “providing a 50% reduction in average
parent fees in regulated ELCC by the end of 2022 and reaching an average of $10/day by fiscal
year 2025/6 for all regulated child care spaces.”

All other provinces in Canada have seen child care fees go down as a result of provincial and
federal governments partnering on affordability. Manitoba is the only province where child care
fees have not been reduced at all.
“Manitoba needs an affordable and high-quality child care system,” said Susan Prentice, Duff
Roblin Professor of Government at the University of Manitoba and a member of the Child Care
Coalition of Manitoba. “Unfortunately, while every other province is moving to $10/day fees,
here in Manitoba the provincial government has opted for a patchwork subsidy approach that
only adds more paperwork and administrative burden for families and facilities.”

“When I first heard about the plan for $10-a-day child care, I was excited because lower fees
would really help my family’s budget,” said Lori Isber, a parent and the chair of the Fort Rouge
Child Care Centre. “But it has been over a year since the government promised to reduce child
care fees and my fees are the same, all while the cost of everything else continues to go up.”
Today’s announcement is made in conjunction with affiliated events being organized by Child
Care Now, the national organization advocating for a publicly funded, inclusive, quality, non-
profit child care system, on November 30 th , the National Day of Action for Child Care.